A Personal Account of the 1975 Tornado
by Gena Chronister Davis

"Hi, my name is Gena Chronister Davis. I was 9 years old in 1975. My brother Joey and I were staying with our grandparents Joe Bob and Dora Turner. I remember it storming really bad while we were eating dinner. Not much was said on the TV about a tornado (at least not on the channel we had on). My Paw Paw went outside to have a look and he came running back in the house saying "Here she comes!!!" We took off for the bathroom. A very tiny bathroom at that. Oh, they lived on Wheeler Street, the hardest hit street in Warren. The house is directly across from the lumber mill. My grandmother, brother and me got in the big claw foot tub, pulled covers over us and Paw Paw laid down on the floor. He wanted to go and check something but our grandmother (we all called her DoDo - pronounced like the DoDo bird) anyway she wouldn't let him. Thank goodness because about then a huge piece of lumber came flying thru the front door, the front room and into the back bedroom. We heard it as it tore thru the house. The sound of the tornado will be with me forever. Just a horrific sound. The little house was actually lifted off its blocks and put back down. All the windows were blown out except the one over the tub. Afterwards I was still so scared. All I wanted to do was go to sleep, but that wasn't possible. I remember it raining pure mud after the tornado passed. My parents lived in Benton and heard on the TV that a tornado had been sighted in Warren. So they start calling and of course the phones were all out. They hopped in their car and go to Warren. When they get to Wheeler Street the police won't let them go down to the house. Finally, after a lot of pleading the police let them on to the street. I was in the house and heard a sound like a dog howling. I thought what a pitiful sound. It wasn't a dog. It was my Mama finding out that we were all OK. She just broke down. I was ready to leave right then. But we couldn't leave until the next morning. My DoDo had a dressing table with a round mirror. The mirror was broken across the top and stuck in behind the glass was a piece of paper that said "Keep Smilin'." We have no idea where the paper came from. We noticed it when someone shone a flashlight around the room. For years after the tornado I was terrified of just a thunderstorm. My mother was 9 when the 1949 tornado came thru. She was in the same house and got in the same bathtub!! I find that pretty strange. Being in a tornado is not anything I would wish on anyone. It is one of the most horrifying events I know. Especially as a child. It is still just as clear 30 years later as the day it happened! My DoDo passed away on June 17, 2005 at 90 years of age. My Paw Paw is living in Wagnon Place. My parents still live in Benton. I am now married living in Mobile, AL. We have 3 children. Julia 5, Turner 10 and Emily who is just 11 weeks. I thought you might be interested in my story. Feel free to email me if you wish." Sincerely Gena Chronister Davis